550th Bundesliga match

Defeat takes shine off Oliver Kahn’s milestone

Created on 15-03-2008 at 00:00 AM

Oliver Kahn will have mixed memories of Saturday’s trip to Energie Cottbus. The Bayern captain racked up his 550th Bundesliga appearance, but the leaders’ second defeat of term at the hands of the league’s bottom club was certainly not part of the pre-match plan.

The spoilsport of the day from the point of view of Bayern and their goalkeeper was two-goal marksman Branko Jelic. The 18th-minute opener was the 400th time Kahn has conceded in the German top flight, while the Serbian striker’s second was Munich’s 1,700th goal against in the Bundesliga. Kahn himself prevented the total from rising still further with three excellent saves.

The former Germany international and three-time World Goalkeeper of the Year, who made 128 top flight appearances for Karlsruher SC before switching to Bayern, has kept a total of 203 clean sheets and remains fourth in the all-time Bundesliga appearances chart. The 38-year-old requires just three more appearances this term to claim third place, the highest he can achieve before ending his career this summer.